Naomi Esther Blemur, Democratic Nominee for Commissioner of Agriculture, postponed her campaign activities for a few days to focus on Hurricane Ian relief efforts and offer much needed assistance to underrepresented communities in the state of Florida. Naomi called upon the Governor and leaders at every level to aid millions of Floridians who have been affected in minority-based communities like Ft. Myers.
The Haitian community in Fort Myers have been devastated by the hurricane. Naomi met with community leaders and collected people’s requests that they would like Governor DeSantis to hear.
The biggest concern for the Haitian community in Fort Myers is access to unemployment benefits. Unfortunately, the hurricane totally devastated the area and caused many jobs to disappear overnight. People are staying unemployed, not being able to provide for themselves and their families. Additionally, residents are asking the government to extend the enrollment deadline to give more people an opportunity to enroll in health-care plans.
Individuals are still staying without electricity, although some areas in Fort Myers have already had their power lines restored. People are also short on food and hope that the authorities will provide them with food.
In a video documenting local residents’ struggle after Hurricane Ian, Naomi addressed Governor DeSantis. ”They want to hear from you. They want to hear from the administration. And they do not think it is fair nor is it just for certain areas to have already received electricity because of their ZIP code while others are still currently in a blackout.”